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Tuesday, May 8, 2018

AMERICANA / SALUTING TRADER JOE’S FEARLESS COPY WRITERS

FELIX CULPA

Finding Trader Joe’s monthly Fearless Flyer in the mail always brings a smile to this reader.It’s an advertising journal that’s always free and worth every penny.The copywriting is refreshing, often over the top and always informative.Below is an example of a sales pitch for a wine deal currently available at Trader Joe’s stores:

There’s a Latin phrase, felix culpa, used to describe happy accidents, serendipitous errors, or, translated literally, “blessed faults.” Plenty of wonderful things throughout history have come about as a result of felix culpa: sticky notes, popsicles, even penicillin were all lucky mistakes. And now, we’re pleased to announce, we get to add St. Somewhere Pinot Noir to that list.

Originally planned for a big-name brand’s premium label, the St. Somewhere started as a blend of Pinot Noir sourced from some of California’s finest coastal vineyards. Somewhere along the way, however, winemakers accidentally added in a small portion of Pinot Noir from Oregon. Oops. Though the overall amount of Oregon wine was minuscule – 0.15% of the juice – labeling laws prevented this wine from being marketed as a purely California Pinot. Thus, the intended premium label was no longer an option.

That’s where we came in. We offered to take the wine off their hands, and what was once tragedy became triumph – free from the confines of the big brand, the same wine that would have sold for significantly more can now be yours for a mere $6.99* a bottle! How does one celebrate such serendipity? We suggest you raise a glass of St. Somewhere Pinot Noir in salute to felix culpa. Accidents don’t get much happier than this!

*St. Somewhere Pinot Noir is currently available in Trader Joe’s stores where wine is sold. It is $6.99 plus tax unless otherwise noted here: NH: $8.99; OH: $9.99. Alcohol availability & price may vary due to state laws, taxes, shipment fees & other such stuff.